


A cup of tea

by happy_mystic



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Fan-made Backstory, Implied drinking, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Post-Game, someone help him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 22:32:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13199937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy_mystic/pseuds/happy_mystic
Summary: The Elder Kettle gets an unexpected visitor.





	A cup of tea

The Elder Kettle had not been expecting the knock at the door.

He and the boys had been getting callers all week, of course - people congratulating them and raving about the boys’s heroism.

But who would come calling at this hour? Cuphead and Mugman said they’d be back before midnight, but they usually came in the door without knocking.

Either way, the Kettle stood up and turned the handle, ready to gently tell whoever it was to come back tomorrow.

Standing at his doorstep was none other than King Dice.

The casino manager was in bad shape. His tie was undone, his jacket rumpled, and still sporting bruises and a thin crack in his top of his head. He slouched, leaning against the doorframe, and swaying a bit on his feet.

The Elder Kettle stared up at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Well,” he remarked cooly. “You’re certainly not who I was expecting.”

King Dice glanced over the kettle’s top, scanning the inside of the house. “Are your boys here?” he asked.

The Elder Kettle shook his head. “They’re both out. Celebrating, I should think.”

He scowled. “My boys have settled their debts. What business do you have here?”

King’s shoulders sagged with a heavy sigh. He glanced up at the Kettle.

“Can I...can I come in a minute?”

The Elder Kettle’s eyebrows raised.

“I know you prolly don’t want me here after what happened with your boys, but...” he trailed off, his voice lowering to a murmur.

“I just...didn’t know where else to go.”

The Elder Kettle glanced King over. The confidence the man carried himself with on a daily basis was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, he looked...tired. Worried. Lost. Goodness knows the Kettle had seen that look enough times on his own boys's faces to recognize it when he saw it.

The Elder Kettle let out a steady sigh. He turned, beckoning.

“Come on in,” he said. “I’ll make you some tea.”

\----

The Elder Kettle dipped forward, pouring hot water out of his nozzle into a teacup.

King pulled up a chair and sat down heavily, bracing himself against the table. He had slung his jacket over the chair and rolled up his sleeves.

He glanced down at his cup, and then at the pictures of Cuphead and Mugman on the wall, and then to his cup again. He shrugged, taking a small sip.

It was no cocktail, but of course a decent, law-abiding family like this wouldn’t have liquor lying around.

“It’s good,” King murmured. “Thanks.”

“Nothing like Chamomile to soothe what ails you,” The kettle took a seat across from him. “And it seems to me right now that’s just what you need, son.”

King gave a small nod, not meeting the kettle’s eyes. “I just...after all that’s happened, I...I needed somewhere to go and... lay low for a little while.”

The Elder nodded. “I imagine your place of work has been quite...hectic as of late.”

King gave a grim chuckle. “Yeah, things have been pretty rough down at the casino.” He rubbed at his hands. “The boss, he’s in...he’s in pretty bad shape. The whole place is kinda on edge right now.”

“From what I heard, my boys gave him quite a beating.”

“He’ll bounce back. Always does.” King cracked a smile. “As long as there’s suckers to be had, he’ll be there.”

The Elder Kettle let out a huff, sending a breeze through his mustache. “Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.”

Both men were quiet for a moment, drinking their tea.

“Wasn’t always like this, you know.” King Dice broke the silence.

“Pardon?”

“This whole gig I got goin’ on-it wasn’t always like this.”

King leaned back in his chair, his eyes staring off into the distance.

“I never had nobody as a kid. I grew up on the streets, stealing, cheating...doing anything to get by.”

“You didn’t ever feel guilty?” the Elder asked.

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” King shrugged. “I always figured, it was better them than me.”

The Elder Kettle took a sip of his tea, letting King continue.

“Started hanging around the Casino soon as I was old enough for them to let me in.” He smiled at the memory. “Took to it like a duck to water. People went around saying I was naturally lucky. They probably knew I was cheating, but hey, as long as you didn’t get caught, no one batted an eye.”

He paused. “For the first time in my life, people knew me. People respected me. I finally felt like I mattered, you know?”

King’s smile faded.

“But it didn’t last long. The Big Man finds out about everything that goes on in his Casino, eventually. One night he came down to meet me, big grin on his face. ‘Been hearin’ a lot about you,’ he said.”

King Dice suppressed a shiver.

“Never been so scared in my life.”

The Kettle nodded. “Understandably.”

“But he wasn’t mad,” King continued. “No, no. He was impressed by me, he said. Said I had a gift. So he made me an offer to work for him.”

“And you just took it?” the Elder Kettle asked incredulously.

King shrugged. “A fella gets desperate enough, he’ll do just about anything.”

“And that includes trading away your immortal-”

“No, not my soul,” King interrupted with a shake of his head. “That’s not how it happened.” The Elder Kettle paused, listening.

“He said he would give me a better life if I helped him to get the souls of others.”

King shrugged. “I guess he could see that I was good at what I did. Recognized my potential.”

He gave a small shake of his head. “That’s the thing about fellas like me. No matter how much we gain, we always think we can get away with a little more.”

The Elder Kettle shot a glance at the family photos on the wall, before turning back to his guest.

King took a sip of his tea. “Long story short, I agreed.”

He set his cup down heavily.

“So, I signed his papers, and he went and made it official. I started working for him, drawing in patrons. During the day, I’d go out and track down people who needed something, anything. And I got what he promised me - money, nice clothes, a penthouse at the top.

“He got to trustin’ me more and more, promoting me, listening to my ideas. Eventually, I got to be the one runnin’ the joint. And...”

King leaned back in his chair. “And, well, that’s all there is to it.”

“Do you ever regret it?” the Kettle asked.

“Nah,” he gave a half-shrug. “This life, it suits a guy like me. Like I said, better them than me, right?” King’s voice lowered. “Me and the boss, we’re good at what we do.” He glanced aside. “We...we got an understanding.”

The Elder Kettle widened his eyes. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

King spat out his tea.

“W-what?!” King sputtered between coughs. “I..I don’t...I’m not...”

The Elder Kettle remained silent, not looking away.

“You...” King gripped the edge of the table, pointing a finger at the Kettle. “You can’t tell nobody, you hear me? Not a damn soul. What happens between us, that’s between him and me, no one else.”

King let his hand drop. That lost look was back in his eyes.

“If anyone knew...” King drew in a breath. “They’d think I’d gone soft. That he’d gone soft. Wouldn’t be good for business, like.”

The kettle gave a small whistle of laughter.

“My dear fellow, who am I going to tell?”

King’s shoulders relaxed a bit as he gave a thin smile. “Guess you have a point.”

The Elder Kettle shook his head.

“But my goodness, a fellow like that...I wouldn’t think he was capable of loving anyone.”

At those words, King’s smiled faded. His lip trembled, his entire face seeming to be on the verge of crumbling. He buried it in one hand, his shoulders shaking.

“Oh, dear boy,” The Elder Kettle’s voice softened. He reached out a hand to King. “I didn’t mean -”

“I know,” King put in, muffled by his hand. “I know. I ain’t stupid.”

His hand dropped to the table. King Dice stared down, his face hidden from view.

“I know he don’t love me, prolly never will. I ain’t lookin’ for no sympathy from nobody.” He sniffed. “It is how it is.”

King shrugged. “I mean, what else am I gonna do? It’s not like I could up and leave, even if I wanted to. This life, the casino, the boss - it’s all I know. Him and me, we got no one else.”

King sank his upper half onto the table, speaking in a whisper.

“We got nothin’ else.”

He stayed like that for a good while, his shoulders still shaking.

Finally, the Elder Kettle spoke up. “Well, I certainly can’t claim to understand your life, and I doubt I can do anything about it, but...”

He extended a hand, placing it on top of King’s with a gentle pat.

“I think you deserve better.”

King finally glanced up, his eyes red-rimmed. He stared back, silent.

“I...” King stood up, rubbing at his eyes. “I should go. Boss’ll be wonderin’ where I am.”

King grabbed his jacket and slung it on. He dusted it off, straightening his tie.

“Don’t go tellin’ nobody ‘bout this.” His familiar bravado was building itself back up. “I was never here, got it?”

The kettle nodded. “Of course.”

King made his way to the door. He reached for the handle, then paused.

“Hey old man?”

King glanced back, the bare bones of a smile on his face.

“Thanks.”

He shut the door, and there was quiet in the house once more.


End file.
